Creo Unite: The end of CAD Translation

The problem

Let’s face it. Every advanced CAD systems, including Creo, requires a significant investment in licensing fees, training, and workflow. Which is why our customers have always been so frustrated that the realities of the workplace dictate the need to invest in a multi-CAD environment—even if they are committed to a primarily PTC workplace.

Customers, suppliers, and partners inevitably choose different CAD platforms and thus even the most dedicated PTC design shop has a extraneous license or two dedicated to importing files from Solidworks, AutoCAD, and/or CATIA.

It’s frustrating. Every additional CAD platform you have to support means additional costs:

License Fees: CAD isn’t cheap. And it’s painful to pay for a seat when you barely use it.

Training: How many times have you heard someone grumble: “$%&!!! How do you manipulate this in CATIA again?”

CAD file translations and multi-CAD environments are a black hole of money and time.

Unite to the rescue.

With the introduction of Creo 3.0 and Unite technology, PTC ended the agony of operating in a multi-CAD environment. At least for shops smart enough to consolidate on Creo.

Creo 3.0 can directly open data from most common CAD systems including Autodesk, CATIA, Siemens NX, SolidEdge, and SolidWorks. There’s no need to convert or translate these files. Just load them directly into your model.

There’s a key difference between importing a file versus opening it. When importing a file, a new business object is created in the new native file format. This can cause versioning, file space, and other issues. When directly opening a file, a new business object is not created and the original file format is used. If the object is subsequently modified in its originating application, those updates get pushed to the Creo assembly.

What’s more, designers can modify the imported components using Creo’s flexible modeling, get updated downstream deliverables such as 2D documentation, simulation data, and tooling, and generally make use of the imported data as if it were Creo native.

Plus there’s no need to convert entire assemblies to modify individual parts, individual parts can be converted as required.

The icing on the cake… you can also export your Creo models in many common native formats including CATIA, SolidWorks, and Siemens NX.

The ability to open, modify, import, and export virtually all major CAD file formats with Unite means that Creo is the only CAD you need.

Unite alone pays for your upgrade

For Pro/Engineer and Wildfire users who have gone off maintenance or Creo users on 1.0 or 2.0, Unite technology can be the factor that pushes them to upgrade to Creo 3.0.

Unite can quite literally pay for the cost of your upgrade by allowing you to drop extraneous seat licenses from other CAD vendors, vastly improve productivity when dealing with outside parties who rely on other CAD solutions, and generally make life easier and less expensive.

Creo 3.0 is more than a year old, the bugs have been patched, and it’s ready for day-to-day deployment. Our customers who have made the switch all love Unite and the improved workflow it brings.

Of course, there are many other benefits to upgrading to the latest version of Creo. It really depends on how you use Creo or Pro/Engineer.

We’d be happy to walk you through the potential costs and benefits involved in upgrading to Creo 3.0 and Unite technology. Give us a call at 408-986-0200 or email us.

Register to watch our Pre-Recorded Webinar on Unite

Watch as we demonstrate Creo Parametric 3.0’s Unite Technology to open and modify 3rd Party CAD models and use Creo’s out-of-the-box Flexible Modeling capabilities to modify geometry from other CAD applications.

Suitable for both first-time users and seasoned users.

Learn new methods and tools to help improve your productivity!

Topics:

Easily open 3rd party CAD models without going through the hassle of data conversion.

Using Flexible Modeling to remove unwanted features such as rounds or holes.

Using Flexible Modeling to repurpose features such as slots and bosses.

Seamlessly retrieve non-native files and avoid need to recreate or rework designs from other CAD systems.

Easily manipulate and add intelligence to models from other CAD systems.

About NxRev - NxRev is an engineering enablement company that specializes in sales, support, and consulting services for high-level engineering design firms. As the largest PTC partner on the west coast, we sell the entire suite of PTC software, as well as complementary solutions including FloEFD.